The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Continued from page 2

Matthew Newton: As the site grows, has the tension between “commercial success and quality work” become more pronounced?

Chris Lavergne: Not really. Maybe less pronounced if anything. When you don’t have to worry about going out of business, you have more time to focus on doing awesome things.

Matthew Newton: Do you view the stories that Thought Catalog publishes as journalism?

Chris Lavergne: I don’t look at it on that granular of a level usually. I consider the project as a whole journalistic in some sense but this is just one aspect of it and perhaps at that a latent one. At this point, we are probably more of an entertainment website, yet even this seems to bleed into a certain kind of cultural journalism. Is reading about someone’s difficulty overcoming alcoholism or particular tale of heartbreak news? Maybe not. But then again: why not? It’s not just the regurgitation of a press release. It’s a raw document of something happening in the world. It gives us perspective on life in some way. And perhaps even articulates a certain segment of a zeitgeist.

Matthew Newton: What issues or contemporary aspects of culture do you think the site articulates particularly well?

Chris Lavergne: Perhaps life in the digital age, but it runs the gamut.

Matthew Newton: Thought Catalog’s editorial perspective has shifted since the site’s inception in February of 2010 – from a mix of critical and personal essays, to more of a focus on the latter. Was that a conscious editorial decision, or has the shift been more of a natural progression?

Chris Lavergne: It’s both conscious and natural. Change will always be a constant at Thought Catalog.

Matthew Newton: The site has a strong readership, but it also has its fair share of critics. Do you care about what the site’s critics have to say?

Chris Lavergne: Fans and critics are part and parcel. You can’t have one without the other. Remove the critics and you remove the fans, it’s all necessarily bounded together.

Chris Lavergne: We are in the process of overhauling the site from the ground up. You’re going see everything change from invisible things like the technical infrastructure, to concrete things like the visual design and editorial. We’re striving to become one of the best content websites out there and because everyone involved with Thought Catalog is so talented, so dedicated we might just pull it off.

Matthew Newton: When you talk about Thought Catalog’s growth, sites like Gawker and Vice come to mind as similar examples of what you’re trying to build. Is that fair, or do you see a different trajectory for the site?

Chris Lavergne: By default, sure. But Thought Catalog is still very much in the shadow of Gawker and Vice.

Matthew Newton: Unlike so many sites that are part of larger media networks, Thought Catalog is independent. Do you plan to remain independent?

Chris Lavergne: There will always be political forces at play and they are critical in any operation but that stuff, at the end of the day, is just business and not what matters most to us. To riff off Shane Smith, all we care about is building a great culture and producing great media.

Matthew Newton: If remaining independent is a matter you’re not too concerned about, does that mean Thought Catalog will eventually be placed on the auction block for the highest bidder?

Chris Lavergne: What? Absolutely not. Money is necessary and great. But doing what you love, creating and the thing created, that's ultimately far more important than the amount of zeroes in your bank account.